GB2153869A

GB2153869A - Mortar-bonded hollow blocks

Info

Publication number: GB2153869A
Application number: GB08403153A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Fred Pilling
Original assignee: Kenneth Calvert Brunskill
Current assignee: Kenneth Calvert Brunskill
Priority date: 1984-02-07
Filing date: 1984-02-07
Publication date: 1985-08-29
Also published as: GB2153869B; GB8403153D0

Abstract

A strip (e.g. of paper or plastics) is placed over the hollows in a first layer of blocks (10), with the edges of the strip resting on the top of the blocks. Mortar 26 is applied over the upwardly facing surfaces of the lower layer of blocks prior to placing the upper layer of blocks (18). The mortar is squeezed, and some of the mortar moves into the hollows in both of the blocks 10 and 18 to form a dowel 28 the mortar being prevented from falling through the hollow in the block 10 by the strip. Mortar also extends through perforations formed in the strip to further increase the anchoring effect of the dowel 28. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION A method of building hollow blocks and a construction including a plurality of hollow blocks The present invention relates to a method of building hollow blocks and to a construction including a plurality of hollow blocks.

In a known construction of hollow concrete building blocks used in agricultural buildings the adjacent blocks in a first layer are spaced apart by a layer of mortar extending between adjacent side faces of the blocks. The hollow portion of the blocks extend upwardly, and a second layer is located above, and spaced from the first layer by a layer of mortar. When applying the layer of mortar onto the upwardly facing surface of the first layer of blocks, prior to placing the second layer on top of the first layer, it has been found that a lot of the mortar tends to fall down into the hollow blocks making it difficult and time consuming to provide a uniform layer of mortar as well as being wasteful of mortar. It has previously been proposed to fill up the hollow blocks with rubble or concrete, but this is expensive and time consuming.Furthermore, apart from the bond between the mortar and the blocks, the construction offers no resistance to forces lateral to the building blocks.

According to one aspect of the present invention, a method of building hollow blocks comprises locating a block with its hollow portion or portions extending upwardly, placing a sheet on top of the building block, the sheet extending over the hollow portion, at least a part of the sheet extending over the upwardly facing surface of the block, applying a layer of mortar onto the upwardly facing surface of the block and locating another block on top of the mortar. The sheet may prevent mortar from falling onto the hollow portion thus doing away with the need to fill up the hollow block with concrete or rubble.

Furthermore, an even layer of mortar may be readily applied to the upwardly facing surface of the block as the layer does not continuously fall into the block. Also, as a portion of the mortar layer may extend over the hollow on top ofthe sheet around the periphery of the hollow, a key may be provided to provide resistance to forces transverse to the building blocks. The size of the key may be enlarged as a building block is placed on top of the mortar thus applying pressure to the mortar and squeezing the mortar outwardly. Furthermore, the key may extend into the hollows of the blocks above and below the mortar.

Preferably, the method includes locating a plurality of hollow blocks in a first layer with their hollow portions extending upwardly, locating the sheet in the form of a strip on top of the first layer, the strip extending over the hollow portions of the blocks of the first layer, applying mortar to the upwardly facing surfaces of the blocks of the first layer and locating a second layer of blocks on top of the first layer of blocks. As the strip can be applied in a single operation on top of a layer of blocks, the speed at which the blocks can be built with may be further increased.

Alternatively, the method includes locating a plurality of hollow blocks in a first layer with their hollow portions extending upwardly, locating a plurality of sheets on top of the first layer,each sheet extending over one or more of the hollow portions of the blocks of the first layer, applying mortar to the upwardly facing surfaces of the first layer, and locating a second layer of blocks on top of the first layer of blocks.

According to another apsect of the present invention, a construction of hollow blocks includes a first hollow block located below and separated from a second hollow block by a layer of mortar, the hollow portions of the blocks extending upwardly, a sheet extending over the hollow portion of the first block, at least a part of the sheet being located between the layer of mortar and the upwardly facing surface of the first block. The construction may include a first layer of hollow blocks located below, and separated from a second layer of hollow blocks by a layer of mortar, the hollow portions of the blocks extending upwardly, the sheet being in the form of a strip, at least a part of the strip being located between the layer of mortar and the upwardly facing surfaces of the first layer of blocks, the strip extending over the hollow potions of the first layer of hollow blocks.Alternatively, a separate sheet may be located between the layer of mortar and each of the upwardly facing surfaces of the first layer, each strip extending over the hollow portion of the respective hollow blocks in the first layer.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a sheet adapted to be located on the upwardly facing surface of a hollow block in which the hollow portion of the block extends upwardly comprises an upper portion arranged to rest on the upwardly facing surface of the block and a recessed portion arranged to be located within the hollow portion of the block. Such a sheet may be conveniently placed and located on the upwardly facing surface of the hollow block.

The recessed portion of the sheet may be arranged to co-operate with the side walls of the block defining the hollow portion to prevent, restrict or inhibit movement of the sheet relative to the block in a direction parallel to the upwardly facing surface of the block. The sheet may include side walls extending from the upper portion to the recessed portion, at least a portion of two of the opposing side walls tapering towards one another as they extend away from the upper portion. The tapering of the side walls may make the sheet easier to locate on a hollow block and may enable the side walls to frictionally engage with the walls of the block defining the hollow portion to enable the sheet to be held in position thereon. This may be of particular importance where the sheet is lightweight and is being used in windy conditions which might otherwise blow the sheets away.An additional advantage of the tapering of the side walls is that the sheets may be able to be stacked on top and partially inside each other for compact storage and transport. The present invention also includes a stack of such sheets.

The recessed portion may include or com prise a generally flat portion connected to the upper portion by an upwardly extending wall or walls. The wall or walls of the sheet may be arranged to cut across the corners in the region where they are arranged to lie adjacent to the corners of the hollow portion of the block for ease of location of the sheet.

The sheet may be in the form of a strip including two or more recessed portions arranged to be located in two or more hollow portions of an upwardly facing block or blocks. The strip may be formed with indentations corresponding to the shape of the hollow portion of the blocks. The strip may be formed, at intervals along its length, with expandable and/or contractable portions which are able to be located between the hollows of two adjacent blocks in a layer. This may enable portions of the strip which are arranged to extend across the hollow of a block to be accurately located, even if the distance between the hollows of adjacent blocks in a layer varies. The expansion or contraction of the strip may be provided by a concertined portion or by slits in the strip extending in the direction of the strip.

The sheet or strip may include perforations in the region which is arranged to lie within the hollow of a block, adjacent to the block whereby mortar may extend through the perforations to further key the blocks of adjacent layers together.

Advantageously, the sheet or strip does not completely cover the upwardly facing surface of a block whereby the mortar may bond with that surface of the block which is not covered by the sheet or strip. Alternatively or additionally, the mortar may be able to bind with the surface of a block which is covered by the sheet or strip, possibly by making the strip porous or perforated.

The sheet or strip may be made of paper, which may provide a sheet or strip which is cheap and easy to manufacture.

Alternatively the sheet or strip may be made of plastics whichis cheap and easy to manufacture, for instance by injection suction moulding. The thickness of the plastics sheet or strip may be 0.6 mm or less, or even less than 0.3 or 0.2 mm.

The sheet or strip may be provided with a strengthening rib or ribs whereby the required rigidity of the sheet or strip can be maintained, whilst allowing the sheet or strip to be made of thinner material thus making the sheet or strip cheaper to manufacture.

The present invention also includes a sheet or strip for use in a method or construction according to the present invention.

The invention may be carried into practice in various ways but certain embodiments will now be described by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of two adjacent hollow blocks in the same layer; Figure 2 is a vertical cross-section through two blocks in adjacent layers; Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 2 showing an alternative form of strip; Figure 4 is a plan view of one form of strip.

Figure 5 is a perspective view of an alternative sheet, and Figure 6 is a side view of the sheet shown in Figure 5.

As shown in Figure 1, two hollow concrete blocks 10 are located adjacent to one another and include a layer of mortar 1 2 between their opposed surfaces. Each block 10 has a pair of hollows 14 which extend in a downwards direction through the block. The upwardly facing surface 1 6 of each block, together with the top of the mortar layer 1 2 present a flat horizontal surface onto which another layer of blocks may be built.

Figure 2 shows a block 10 from one layer located below a block 1 8 from another layer, the side walls 20 from each block 10 and 1 8 being co-extensive with each other.

The block 1 8 is built on top of the block 10 as follows. A paper strip 22 is laid on top of the upwardly facing surfaces 1 6 presented by each block 10 in the lower layer. An edge margin 24 along each side of the strip 22 rests on a portion of the side walls 20. A layer of mortar 26 is then applied to the upwardly facing surfaces 1 6 and the strip 22. Some of the mortar tends to spill over the sides of the walls 20, and that which extends over the hollow 1 4 is prevented from falling into the hollow by the strip 22. The blocks 1 8 of the next layer are then built on top of the blocks 10. The layer of mortar 26 is squeezed by the block 1 8 and some of the mortar gets pushed out from between the opposed surfaces of the blocks 10 and 1 8. That portion of mortar which gets pushed to the outside of the blocks can be removed and the mortar is pointed in the normal way whereas that portion of the mortar which is pushed towards the hollow 14 forms a rib or dowel 28. The dowel 28 is of greater height than the layer of mortar 26 and extends into the hollows 14 of both the block 10 and 1 8. Furthermore, the dowel 28 extends across the hollows 14 to provide a key or anchor between the blocks 10 and 1 8 tending to resist relative transverse and lateral movement between the blocks.

As shown in Figure 3, the strip 22 may be formed with perforations 30 in the region where it overlies the hollow 14, adjcent to the walls of the block, to allow the mortar to extend through the perforations and form spigots 32 and further increase the anchoring effect of the dowel 28.

As shown in Figure 4, the strip is formed with indentations or pockets 34 which are arranged to overlie the hollows 14. In an alternative embodiment (not shown) the indentations are not preformed on the strip but are created in-situ under the weight of the mortar. The strip is provided with a series of concertinas 36 extending transversly to the longitudinal direction of the strip 22, each of the concertinas being arranged to be located between adjacent hollows 14 of adjacent blocks in a layer. The concertinas allow the pockets 34 to be accurately located in the hollows of a layer of blocks, even though the width of the mortar between the blocks may vary, by expanding or contracting the concertina in the direction of the strip.

Figure 5 and 6 show a single sheet 38 which includes an upper surrounding flat edge 40 and a lower flat portion 42, the edge 40 and flat portion 42 being connected together by a wall 44.

In use, the underside of the edge 40 is arranged to rest on top of a hollow block with the wall 44 extending into and adjacent to the wall defining the hollow portion of the block.

Mortar is then applied in a similar manner to that previously described in relation to Figure 2 prior to locating another block on top of the first block.

The wall 44 is rounded at its corners 46 to assist in the east of locating the sheet 38 in a hollow portion.

The wall 44 also tapers inwardly towards the flat portion 42 which has several advantages, one being that the sheets can be stacked inside each other. Another advantage is that the walls of the block defining the hollow portion are irregular as they are made of granular aggregate material, and the flat portion is able to be easily inserted into the hollow portion with the wall 44 possibly contacting the sides of the block upon further insertion of the sheet.

The wall 44 includes an outwardly directed downwardly tapering flange 48 along each of its edges which may be arranged to contact the walls of the block to further reduce the possible area of contact between the sheet and the block and assist in the location of the sheet.

Any contact between the wall 44 of the sheet and the block may help prevent the sheet from being blown away prior to the application of the mortar.

Although the sheet 38 is shown with a single flat portion 42, it will be appreciated that two or more such flat portions could be spaced along the sheet for location in a plurality of hollows in a single or a plurarlity of blocks.

The sheets shown in the drawings could be made of different sizes in order to suit different sizes of blocks. Furthermore, the sheets could be made out of any suitable material, for instance plastics, in which the sheets could be formed by vacuum moulding or injection moulding. Furthermore, any of the sheets shown in the drawings could include a strengthening rib or ribs over any part thereof in order to increase their strength or rigidity for a given thickness of the sheet. As an example of thickness of sheet, the sheets could be 0.6 mm thick or even less than 0.3 mm or 0.2 mm thick. In one embodiment, the plastics could be suction moulded over a mesh of any desired shape to give a dimpled effect to the sheet, and this may strengthen the sheet, including the edges.

It can be seen that when a wall is being built using the hollow blocks and sheets or strips, the mortar can be applied in a layer extending over the hollows and upwardly facing surface of the blocks at a rapid rate corresponding to that which can be achieved when applying mortar to a layer of bricks.

Claims

1. A method of building hollow blocks comprising locating a hollow block with a hollow portion of the block extending upwardly, placing a sheet on top of the building block, the sheet extending over the hollow portion and over the upwardly facing surface of the block, applying a layer of mortar onto the upwardly facing surface of the block, and locating another block on top of the mortar.

2. A method as claimed in Claim 1 comprising locating a plurality of hollow blocks in a first layer with their hollow portions extending upwardly, locating the sheet in the form of a strip on top of the first layer, the strip extending over the hollow portions of the blocks of the first layer, applying mortar to the upwardly facing surface of the blocks of the first layer, and locating a second layer of blocks on top of the first layer.

3. A method as claimed in Claim 1 comprising locating a plurality of hollow blocks in a first layer with their hollow portions extending upwardly, locating a plurality of sheets on top of the first layer, each sheet extending over one or more of the hollow portions of the blocks of the first layer, applying mortar to the upwardly facing surface of the first layer, and locating a second layer of blocks on top of the first layer.

4. A method of building hollow blocks substantially as herein described with reference to, and as shown in Figures 1, 2, 3 or 4, or Figures 5 and 6.

5. A construction of hollow blocks including a first hollow block located below and separated from a second hollow block by a layer of mortar, the hollow portions of the block extending upwardly, a sheet extending over the hollow portion of the first hollow block, part of the sheet being located between the layer of mortar and the upwaldly facing surface of the first block.

6. A construction as claimed in Claim 4 including a first layer of hollow blocks located below, and separated from a second layer of hollow blocks by a layer of mortar, the hollow portions of the blocks extending upwardly, the sheet being in the form of a strip, part of the strip being located between the layer of mortar and the upwardly facing surface of the first layer of blocks, the strip extending over the hollow portions of the first layer.

7. A construction of hollow blocks substantially as herein described with reference to, and as shown in Figures 1, 2 or 3 of the accompanying drawings.

8. A construction of hollow blocks as claimed in any of Claims 5 to 7 which has been built by a method as claimed in any of Claims 1 to 4.

9. A sheet, capable of being located on the upwardly facing surface of a hollow block in which the hollow portion of the block extends upwardly, comprising an upper portion arranged to rest on the upwardly facing surface of the block and a recessed portion arranged to be located within the hollow portion of the block.

1 0. A sheet as claimed in Claim 8 in which the recessed portion is arranged to co-operate with the side walls defining a hollow portion in a block.

11. A sheet as claimed in Claim 9 or 10 including side walls extending from the upper portion to the recessed portion. at least a portion of two opposing side walls tapering towards one another as they extend away from the upper portion.

12. A sheet as claimed in any of Claims 8 to 11 in which the sheets are capable of being stacked one on top of each other, with the recessed portion of an upper sheet extending below the upper portion of a lower adjacent sheet.

1 3. A sheet as claimed in any of Claims 10 to 1 2 in which the recessed portion includes a generally flat portion connected to the upper portion by an upwardly extending wall or walls.

1 4. A sheet as claimed in any of Claims 9 to 1 3 comprising a strip including two or more recessed portions, each of which recessed portions are arranged to be located within a different hollow portion of a block or blocks.

15. A sheet as claimed in Claim 14 including, at intervals along its length, portions which may be expanded.

16. A sheet as claimed in Claim 14 or 1 5 including, at intervals along its length, portions which may be contracted.

17. A sheet as claimed in Claim 15 or 16 in which the portions which may be expanded or contracted are comprised by concertined portions.

1 8. A sheet as claimed in Claim 1 5 or 1 6 in which the portions which may be expanded or contracted are comprised by slits extending in the direction of the strip.

1 9. A sheet as claimed in any of Claims 9 to 1 8 including perforations.

20. A sheet as claimed in any of Claims 9 to 1 9 in which at least a portion thereof is porous.

21. A sheet as claimed in any of Claims 8 to 20 which is comprised of paper.

22. A sheet as claimed in any of Claims 8 to 21 which is comprised of plstics.

23. A sheet as claimed in Claim 22 in which the sheet is formed by suction moulding.

24. A sheet as claimed in any of Claims 9 to 23 including a strengthening rib.

25. A sheet substantially as herein described with reference to, and as shown in Figures 2, 3, 4 or 5 and 6.

26. A sheet as claimed in any of Claims 8 to 25 when included in a construction as claimed in any of Claims 5 to 8 or when used in a method as claimed in any of Claims 1 to 4.